Wishlist
by em2706
Summary: Alex always asks Santa for the same thing, but he seems to be on the naughty list. Slash. Christmas fic for 2010.


"Jesus, Chris," Alex huffed, straining to pull their sled back up the hill. "What the fuck have you been eating?"

"Cheeseburgers," Chris replied, lounging on the sled without the slightest concern for Alex's struggle. "And McFlurries, and sometimes bacon, but mostly cheeseburgers."

"Well, stop it, you fat bastard."

"Shut up, you know I'm perfect." Chris took the time to flex his biceps, despite the fact that it made no visible difference in his thick coat, and Alex wasn't looking anyway. "Less talking and more pulling, weakling. See, this is why you should lift weights."

"If I wanted to build up the strength to pull _you_ around, I should probably lift cars," Alex muttered.

Chris ignored him, idly casting his gaze around. They weren't the only men of their age on the sledding hill, but they were the only ones not escorting their children. From the jealous glances some of them kept shooting at Chris and Alex, Chris suspected several kids were going to be very annoyed about their fathers stealing their sleds in the near future.

After a great deal of complaining and several more impressively snide remarks about Chris' weight, they made it back up to the top. Too busy being petulant to bother looking where he was going, Alex nearly tripped over a boy of about nine, and he rounded on the child with a snarled, "Piss off."

Rolling his eyes, Chris got up from the sled. "Don't mind him," he told the startled boy. "He's just grumpy because Santa didn't bring him what he wanted last year, and he's not sure he's going to get it this year either."

As the kid stuck his tongue out at Alex and stalked away, Alex glared at Chris with a lot more irritation than Chris' words should have prompted. Alex wasn't really in the festive spirit this year. Chris thought it was a shame, because Alex used to love Christmas. He used to bounce around so much on Christmas Eve that Chris was afraid he'd make himself sick, but he'd grown increasingly apathetic about the whole thing over the last couple of years. Somewhere along the way, Alex had grown up. This year, despite Christmas Day being only seven hours away, Alex hadn't even put up a tree.

"What?" Chris asked. "Would you prefer I'd told him it was your time of the month?"

Alex scowled, and he turned his back on Chris to look out over the hill. Two boys were beating the snot out of each other at the bottom of it, and in spite of himself, Alex had to resist the urge to grin. The sight of children committing violence on each other always cheered him up.

Chris let him sulk for a minute before asking, "Speaking of Santa, did you write your letter yet?"

Alex turned back to him, smiling wryly. "I don't think there's much point. I'm pretty sure I'm permanently on the naughty list."

"Aw, why would you say that?"

Alex looked away again, and as he watched the fighting boys being separated by their furious mother, more snow began to fall. "I've asked him for the same thing for the last seven years. So far, no dice."

Chris prodded at Alex's shoulder. "Maybe this is your lucky year."

Alex shrugged. "I really doubt it."

"C'mon, man, what have you got to lose?"

Looking sideways at Chris, Alex finally grinned and said, "Dude, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but there's no such -"

Chris cut him off sharply. "I swear to God, if you finish that sentence I will stab you in your motherfucking face."

Alex laughed, and Chris was glad to see his mood lightening.

"I don't mind you hurling obscenities at children, but nobody disses Santa and lives," Chris continued. "Anyway, we should probably get going. I've got some stuff I need to do tonight. And you need to go home and write your letter to Santa." He waved a gloved finger in Alex's face in an authoritarian fashion. "Promise me."

Alex slapped the finger away. "Fine. Anything to shut you up. I didn't have anything planned tonight anyway. I think I'm just going to go home, kill a bunch of zombies -"

"Write your letter to Santa," Chris prompted.

"Write my letter to Santa, and then get an early night." Alex smiled, and he looked as though he was about to continue, until there was a dull, wet splat and Alex's head jerked forward. Raising his hand to the back of his head, Alex spun around to see where the snowball had come from and found the kid he'd sworn at smirking at him. "Little fucker," Alex muttered, scooping up a handful of snow to return the favour.

The boy apparently had friends on his side, and Alex targeted them all indiscriminately while Chris retreated to a safe distance. Other children watched the exchange of ammunition with interest, several of them eyeing the snow and Alex in a manner which suggested they were tempted to join in, and had already decided which side they were on. Alex just had one of those faces that made people want to throw things at him.

"Come on, you bastards," Alex yelled, glaring around at them. "I'll take you all on!" He turned towards Chris and asked brightly, "You've got my back, right?"

Chris snorted. "Fuck off, have you seen how many of them there are?"

"Yes, that's why I need backup." Alex looked slightly panicked. "Come on, man, they outnumber me by, like, twenty to one. These little shits are gonna slaughter me if you don't help out."

"Okay, fine, I've got your back," Chris sighed, bending to pick up their sled and force the length of one side into the snow to create a makeshift wall, so Alex could retreat to a fortified position. "I've always got your back."

* * *

Chris did his best to be quiet as he let himself into Alex's apartment with the spare key, which Alex kept at Chris' place in preparation for the many times when he lost, submerged or, on one memorable occasion, melted his own. It wasn't an easy task, given the amount of stuff he was carrying, but he had to be cautious because Alex was an unpredictable sleeper; one night he'd sleep lightly enough that the sound of Chris breathing on the other side of a shared hotel room could wake him, and the next he'd be so close to comatose that if the zombiepocalypse they were both waiting for should happen during the night, any passing zombies would dismiss him as one of their own. Knowing Chris' luck, tonight would be one of Alex's restless nights.

Eventually Chris managed to get himself and his assorted burdens inside, and he put everything down on the floor and the key in his pocket so he had his hands free to close the door quietly. He cast a long look down the hallway at Alex's bedroom door. Alex didn't emerge, so Chris assumed he'd made it at least this far without waking him.

Picking his boxes and bags up again, Chris carried everything into the living room and set it all down carefully before turning to switch on the light and close that door too. He looked around the room as he shrugged out of his coat, and he was dismayed - but not surprised - to see so little evidence of the festive season. Not too many years ago, walking into Alex's apartment on Christmas Eve would have made his eyeballs bleed, but now the only sign of Christmas was the small pile of gifts on the couch, waiting for Alex's attention in the morning. Chris threw his coat down next to them and wasted no time in getting to work. He felt a twinge in his neck as he bent over to open the largest box, and he smiled in spite of the brief pain that shot down his spine.

It was Chris' injury that had started the ball rolling in the first place. The concussion he'd received had been the biggest problem, but he'd definitely done at least a little damage to his neck too, and the whole experience was jumbled in his head. He didn't remember much of anything after the uranage that ended with him crashing into the mat head first; he remembered the noise as he made contact, and then he remembered seeing Alex's face as he tried to focus and continue the match. Alex was terrified, and Chris had never seen that before. Eventually, Alex had put Devon in a half Boston crab as planned, but he barely even seemed aware that the match was still going on. It was obvious that the only thing he could see was Chris, lying on the apron.

Then everything had blurred, and the next thing Chris remembered was being on a treatment table in a trainer's room with people of a medical persuasion fussing over him, and Alex's voice saying, "Come on, man, you've gotta be okay. It's too late for me to rewrite my wishlist now." He'd heard the desperation and fear underneath Alex's attempt at flippancy, but he hadn't been physically able to ask Alex what he was talking about.

Chris twisted his neck, listening to the sound of the gristle moving as something inside worked itself into a more comfortable position. He reminded himself to get back to the business at hand, and he laid the large box open. Inside was an artificial Christmas tree. It was smaller than Chris would have liked, but the only thing Chris would have been truly satisfied with was eight foot of real Norway spruce, and he doubted his ability to get that into the apartment and set it up without disturbing Alex in the process.

Chris took the sections out and put them together, standing the completed five foot tree in the distressingly bare corner of the room that was normally already occupied by a much larger tree at this time of year. He pulled the branches down away from the main trunk of the tree, trying to arrange them roughly evenly, and then he turned back to his bags for the lights.

It was a much quieter affair than when Chris had dropped in on Christmas Eve last year. Last year, Alex had been in a lot of pain due to his back injury, and when Chris had come over, Alex was off his face on what seemed to be an interesting cocktail of painkillers. Certainly, he wasn't himself. He'd yammered away and bounced around the room in a worryingly manic fashion, and when he'd finally stopped, he'd sat next to Chris on the couch, resting his head on Chris' shoulder.

"I love you," he had said, and Chris had smiled. Alex was kind of adorable when he was off his tits.

"I love you too," Chris had replied, "and stop drooling on my jacket, tard, it's new."

Alex had laughed, and Chris had winced as Alex locked him in a painfully tight bearhug. "I put this on my wishlist every year, and every year, you remain annoyingly straight. Turns out all I need to do to get what I want is take a fuckton of drugs. I've seen a lot of shit tonight, but you're the best hallucination by far. I should take this shit every fucking day."

Chris had still been trying to work out what the hell Alex was talking about when Alex kissed him, and he was too stunned by it to even react. If any other guy had done it, he'd probably have shoved them away so hard they'd both have fallen right off the couch, but Alex was his closest friend and Chris hadn't ever seen this coming. He still hadn't recovered himself when Alex broke the kiss, and Chris had remained sitting motionless in shock, staring wide-eyed at Alex.

"I still wish you were real," Alex had slurred with a melancholy smile, and then he'd passed out. Chris had left, and he'd spent the next hour sat outside in his car, trying to work out what the fuck had just happened.

Chris strung the lights onto the tree, shaking his head at himself with a grin as he recalled how utterly confused he'd been. He'd felt so many things that he couldn't pin any of them down, and the one saving grace had been the fact that Alex couldn't even remember that Chris had gone over for a visit, so on the surface they could continue as normal while Chris tried to figure everything out.

He'd known right off the bat that he wasn't attracted to Alex. What Alex wanted was never going to happen, so the question was whether Chris could cope with knowing that Alex felt that way about him. He'd answered that one pretty quickly. Alex was his best friend, and this revelation wasn't going to change that. The next question was much harder - how could Alex possibly handle spending so much time with Chris, when he knew Chris would never love him in the way Alex wanted?

Chris thought the earth of Alex, and the idea of him quietly spending years loving someone who'd never return his affection broke Chris' heart. Sometimes he'd felt Alex's eyes on him while he was talking to women, and every time, it had made him feel horribly guilty. He knew it was stupid, that he was under no obligation to return Alex's feelings, and he knew Alex didn't think so either, but he also knew he was hurting his best friend just by being around him and he couldn't stand that.

Chris plugged the lights into the outlet and watched them spring to life. They flashed five or six times in one pattern before switching to another, and when Chris pressed a button on the small control box near the socket, they started playing 'White Christmas'. They were enormously tacky - Alex would love them. At least, the Alex of a few years ago would have loved them, and Chris hoped it wasn't too late to dig that Alex out.

As he pulled out the tinsel and started putting it on the tree, Chris remembered his abortive attempts to deflect Alex's affection elsewhere. He'd tried to set Alex up with both men and women, and Alex had been wholly uninterested the entire time. Then, finally, Chris had found someone Alex _was_ interested in - and discovered he didn't like that one bit.

He didn't know why. It wasn't as if he wanted Alex for himself, after all. But somehow, the thought of Alex living happily ever after with somebody else had made him feel helplessly furious, and he'd started thinking back on the previous Christmas Eve. Alex's kiss had been messy and incompetent, which was hardly surprising, considering how fucked up he'd been at the time. Still, Chris found himself remembering little details that he hadn't let himself think about before, like the way it felt when Alex had smiled against his mouth. Maybe his feelings for Alex weren't as platonic as he'd thought. Maybe. Whatever the reason, he couldn't bear Alex's infatuation with his new flame, and he'd contrived to scupper the fledgling relationship before it ever got off the ground. He'd felt like such a bastard for destroying something that could have made Alex happy at long last, but he really couldn't help himself.

Chris moved on to the baubles and various other garish hanging decorations, all of them an affront to the eyes and none of them matching, trying to reassure himself that his gift to Alex this year would more than make up for having sabotaged him like that. This year would be easier than last year, for both of them. Chris was going to make sure of it.

Chris was certain Alex's year had been harder than his, despite the ridiculous amount of time Chris had spent wrestling with his emotions, and trying to figure out exactly what he wanted. Even once he'd realised he didn't like seeing Alex with anyone else, he couldn't believe he was genuinely interested in Alex himself. And he knew he couldn't let slip to Alex what was going on in his head; if he gave Alex even a tiny bit of hope only to take it away again when he discovered what he felt was superficial, Alex would be devastated. Whether it was romantic or platonic, Chris cared far too much about Alex to let that happen.

The night Chris began to accept that his attraction to Alex was real was a vivid memory, if a somewhat guilty one. They were on the road doing TNA live events, and they'd both been having a hard time that weekend. Chris had dealt with it by hiding away in the room they were sharing, losing himself in introspection (and, if he was honest, a lot of herb). Alex, on the other hand, drank. His need was already old; there was nothing new left for introspection to tell him, so he tried to make it go away for a few hours instead. From the smirk on his face when he returned and the semi-coherent ramblings punctuated with sharp barks of laughter, Chris got the impression it had worked.

Chris hadn't been able to stop staring at Alex's drunken grin. He hadn't realised until then how little Alex smiled anymore. His boisterous and often stupid friend had gradually vanished, leaving behind a tired man who was too old to believe in happy endings anymore. Chris had forgotten how infectious Alex's smile was, and how when he smiled at Chris, he always looked as though he had a secret he was willing to share with Chris alone. Now that Chris knew what that secret was, Alex's smile made him feel like an unworthy recipient, and fired his confusing desire until he ached to reach out for Alex.

Chris had been desperate to know whether Alex's touch would affect him the way he suspected it might, but it wasn't exactly something he could investigate. He couldn't let Alex know what he felt until he was sure, but he couldn't be sure until he knew how loving Alex would feel. Alex's condition provided a tantalising opportunity though.

_He won't even remember it_, Chris' inner voice had coaxed, adding to his consternation; Alex was notorious for his inability to recall anything he'd done while he was this severely inebriated. In the end, temptation won out over ethics, and Chris had backed Alex up against the door and kissed him. It was sloppy and messy again, and Alex tasted and stank of beer, but when his tongue slid into Chris' mouth and his hands closed on Chris' hips, Chris couldn't figure out which reaction was stronger - the surge of emotion he felt or the surge of blood to his cock.

That kiss lasted a lot longer than their first one, and when it was over, Chris still held Alex close, his chin resting on Alex's shoulder.

"I love you," Alex had sighed in his ear, and Chris was relieved Alex was so drunk. If something happened between them, Chris wasn't about to start it off this way, and that was probably the only thing that kept him from falling into Alex's bed before he was certain and ruining any chance they might have together. Chris had been through enough lovers to know that while sex only means what you make it mean, once you turn up the dial on the emotion and intensity, you can't turn it back down again without destroying whatever you started with. If they'd had sex that night, there was no way it could have been a casual exploration. Either Chris would have discovered he didn't like it, or it would have been earth-shattering lovemaking, and in the morning they'd have had nothing left.

"I think I love you too," Chris had whispered forlornly, and he'd let himself lean on Alex for a moment before pulling himself together. He'd put Alex to bed and forced himself to go to his own, ignoring the insistent voice that whispered to him all night about what would happen if he slipped into Alex's bed. He didn't sleep much that night, and the next day he was miserable and distant. Alex had no idea why, and Chris was glad for that.

Chris stood back to survey his handiwork. The tree was a hideous visual assault, and Chris was pretty sure it was scarring his retinas. It was perfect. He fetched the cheap, glitter-covered polystyrene star he'd bought as a topper, and once it was in place, the tree looked like someone had stolen it straight out of 1974. Nodding his approval to himself, Chris went to get the foil garlands and thumbtacks out of his bags.

As he clambered onto various pieces of furniture to hang the garlands on the ceiling, Chris realised his cock was already beginning to stir in his pants. It was hardly surprising - after all his confusion and his reluctance to accept his desire, he stood now in Alex's apartment, with Alex asleep in bed right down the hallway, and Chris was probably no more than ten minutes away from joining him in there. If anything, Chris was surprised he didn't already have an erection he could cut glass with, but it wasn't very helpful when he was trying to decorate Alex's living room. The images in his head of the things he was going to do to Alex were ruining his concentration and he kept fumbling the thumbtacks. He was going to have to tell Alex not to enter the room without shoes in the morning.

After a couple of months of taking every opportunity to surreptitiously watch Alex, and countless hours of deep, tortured thought and introspection, Chris had accepted that his feelings for Alex weren't transitory or casual. However, even after he was sure he was in love with Alex, Chris hadn't made a move. He was still afraid he'd end up hurting him; Chris had never had sex with a man before, and while he knew he was attracted to Alex, he had no idea how he'd feel about the reality of sleeping with him. The whole thing was uncharted territory, and if he and Alex had got it on and he discovered he really didn't like it, no matter what Alex's logic told him, Alex would have been hurt beyond the telling of it.

It was well known in TNA and in certain indy circles that if you had a problem concerning sex, Desmond Wolfe was the man to talk to. Desmond was one sleazy motherfucker, and if he couldn't help you, your cause was officially hopeless. He had a finger in every pie, so to speak, but he was also discreet; people wouldn't keep bringing him their issues to solve if those issues were all over the locker room in the morning. So Chris had gone to Desmond, and Desmond had been more than happy to help him find out how he felt about gay sex. By the following day, Desmond had looked like even more of a smug prick than usual, and Chris had been absolutely positive that he wanted to fuck the hell out of Alex at every opportunity.

Alex, meanwhile, had grown increasingly subdued and withdrawn, and it broke Chris' heart to realise Alex had reached the point where he no longer really cared what happened. Nothing was ever very funny or very exciting anymore, and Alex was going through his days on automatic, putting no real energy into anything other than trying to obfuscate how little interest he had left in his own life. Chris had understood that it wasn't exactly about Alex's unfulfilled desire for him. It was more of a loss of optimism, and Chris was determined to give that back to him.

That had been in September. Chris had decided that a few more months wouldn't make any difference, and that waking up during the night on Christmas Eve to find Chris waiting to make love to him was probably the closest thing to a fairytale ending that existed in Alex's world. Chris was going to pull that boisterous, excitable boy out of the shell Alex wore now, and make damn sure he never lost sight of himself again.

Chris stood in the middle of the room and looked up at the awful, gaudy decorations, but it hurt his eyes so he went to get Alex's gifts from the couch and put them under the tree. As he moved his jacket aside, Chris noticed a folded piece of paper alongside the pile of presents. He picked it up out of curiosity, and when he opened it and started to read, he couldn't help but smile.

_Dear Santa,_

_Fuck you, seriously. I'm only writing this stupid letter because I promised him I would, so it doesn't really matter what I say in it, right? It's not like anyone's ever going to see it. This is my pointless wishlist:_

_1. Chris Sabin_

_2. For Christmas to actually be worth getting out of bed for again._

_I'm sure you'll excuse me if I don't hold my breath._

_So here's the thing: I hate you. I hate you for not existing. I hated you when I was seven and I didn't get that tank I wanted, and I hate you a thousand times more now. I hate the fact that the idea of wish fulfilment exists, when wish fulfilment itself doesn't. I hate that I've spent seven years wishing for something that can't happen. I'm sick of it, and I'm sick of seeing pictures of your stupid jolly face. If you can't be bothered to exist, don't show your ugly mug around here anymore, asshole._

_Love,_  
_Alex._

_p.s. DIET, you fat fuck._

Chris folded the paper again and put it back. The content of the letter after the first couple of sentences had wiped the smile from his face, but he reminded himself that he was about to give Alex everything he wanted. He wanted to do it right that second, so he made himself hurry up with the gifts. He carried them to the tree and began to arrange them beneath it, and a large tag on a relatively small box wrapped in metallic gold paper caught his eye.

_With love,_  
_Chris_

Chris resisted the childish urge to stamp on the box, forcing himself to put it under the tree with the other presents. He knew exactly who the other Chris was. Alex and Chris Hero had dated for a while, years ago, and it was no secret to those who'd been aware of their relationship that they still held a great deal of affection for each other.

The previous week, Chris and Alex had worked a show in Syracuse with the Kings, and afterwards Alex and Hero had gone for a drink. The next thing Chris knew, Claudio was knocking on his hotel room door, informing him with a smile that Alex and Hero were spending the night together in the room Claudio and Hero had rented, and that they'd suggested Claudio take Alex's bed. To make matters worse, that room was right next door to Chris', and the occasional noises he heard drove him half out of his mind. He'd always liked Hero, but now the thought of him with Alex - inside Alex - made Chris want to straddle the lanky fuck and punch him till his face caved in. While Alex took comfort in Hero, Chris had endured another night of insomnia and misery.

He hadn't mentioned anything about it to Alex, and Alex hadn't brought it up either. For two days he'd been tortured by his fear that he'd left it too long, and that he'd missed his chance with Alex through nothing but his own stupidity. Then he'd received an interesting call from Desmond, who'd mentioned nonchalantly that Hero had called him to complain about the fact that Hero had fallen into bed with his ex, thinking they were starting things up again, only to find in the morning that the ex in question had just wanted to revisit memory lane and had left him high and dry. Desmond, Chris thought, was far too smart for his own good. When they went back on the road, he was going to buy Desmond a couple of hookers as a thank you.

Satisfied with the arrangement of Alex's presents, Chris retrieved the last items he'd brought with him - a sprig of mistletoe and some sellotape. He didn't think they'd need the mistletoe, but it was the principle of the thing, so he sellotaped it to the wall above the doorway.

He put the sellotape and the little box of thumbtacks on the edge of Alex's TV unit, and shoved his empty bags and boxes out of sight behind the couch. If he glanced around the room too fast the hideous explosion of colour made him fear for his sight, so he surmised he'd done a decent job with the decorating. Flipping the light off but leaving the tree lights on, he quietly opened the door and snuck down the hallway to Alex's bedroom.

Alex's bedroom door was ajar, and Chris pushed it open far enough to admit him. Once inside the room, he couldn't take his eyes off Alex. It was dark, the only illumination provided by the moonlight coming through the window, amplified by the blanket of snow outside, and Alex lay sleeping peacefully in the middle of his bed, his black hair a stark contrast to his white sheets and pillows. He actually looked serene, and Chris decided what he was seeing must be coloured by his emotions, because if there was one thing Alex had never been in his entire life, it was serene.

Chris stripped out of his clothes as quickly as he could without falling over, leaving them in a heap on the floor. He padded over to the bed, and his heart felt like it was hammering in his throat as he slid beneath the covers. He inched closer to Alex, and Alex finally stirred when Chris' hand stroked across his belly.

"Chris?" Alex mumbled groggily, his voice thick with sleep.

Chris let his hand come to rest on Alex's hip, and for a second he wondered jealously which Chris Alex meant. "It's me," he said softly. "Merry Christmas."

Alex shifted toward Chris instinctively, pushing his side into contact with Chris' body, and then his eyes widened as he awoke sufficiently to realise that Chris was really in his bed. "Wh..." he began, but he let the sound trail away because he didn't know quite what to ask.

Chris shook his head. "Don't question it tonight. We can talk in the morning." He pulled Alex closer, and Alex's skin felt so warm and inviting as Chris wound an arm beneath him and around his waist. "Just love me. You do still love me?"

Alex didn't answer, staring at Chris in disbelief for a moment before letting his hand come up to cup the back of Chris' head. His eyes darted around Chris' face, looking for evidence that this was a joke or a lie, and when he found none, he smiled tentatively. He opened his mouth to speak, but Chris leaned down to kiss him, swallowing whatever words Alex was trying to form.

Chris had been waiting for this moment for the last three months, and it was everything he'd hoped for. It was soft and innocent to begin with, half open mouths meeting in brief, tender kisses as Chris tried to express all the emotion Alex brought out in him. His arm tightened around Alex's waist and his other hand splayed across Alex's chest, and then he felt Alex moving, insinuating himself beneath Chris' body and drawing one of Chris' legs between his own. He felt Alex's cock stirring against his thigh as it hardened, and he couldn't help deepening the kiss into something more overtly sexual.

As his tongue slid into Alex's mouth, Chris felt Alex's hand leave the back of his head and travel down his neck. He shivered as Alex's fingers teased down his back, and then they closed over his hip and pulled his lower body into firmer contact, making him moan against Alex's lips. He stroked down Alex's chest and over his stomach, and when his hand wrapped gently around Alex's cock, the way Alex gasped into the kiss made him want to stay in bed for the next week, pleasuring Alex in every way conceivable just to hear the different noises it would lead to.

This was a side of Alex Chris knew he wouldn't see often, quiet and acquiescent, and Chris presumed it was because he'd caught Alex off-guard and he was still regaining his equilibrium. Alex's cock felt hot in his hand, the soft skin drawing over the hard flesh beneath it as Chris let himself start stroking Alex slowly while he pulled away from their breathless kiss.

"You have no idea how badly I've been wanting to do this," he muttered, his circled fingers sliding down to the base of Alex's cock and drawing back up languidly. "Every time I've seen you shower for months, all I've wanted to do is sneak in there behind you, press you up against the tiles and drive my fingers into you. Every damn time."

Alex still didn't speak, but Chris could see a lustful light in his eyes that suggested he was envisioning the scenario, and Alex thrust forward slightly into Chris' hand. Chris smiled at the response, but in the back of his mind, a small voice was complaining that for some reason he couldn't discern, Alex was holding something back from him. He brushed the thought aside, assured that Alex would be completely open with him soon enough.

Chris stroked Alex slowly, watching enraptured as a flush spread across Alex's cheeks and his breathing grew shallower, and as much as he wanted the night to last, he couldn't keep from pushing ahead. Placing a loving kiss at the corner of Alex's mouth, Chris grinned as he sat up and pulled his hand from Alex's cock, throwing back the covers.

Gazing hungrily at Alex's exposed body, partially bathed in the moonlight, Chris reached over to trail his hand up Alex's thigh. "Open your legs for me," he prompted, his voice already beginning to sound a little rough around the edges. Alex complied immediately without a word, and Chris clambered over his leg to kneel between his thighs.

From the new position, Alex looked breathtaking. Much of him was in shadow, and it made the curves and angles the light touched stand out more sharply, his dark eyes glinting as they followed Chris' every move. He'd grown noticeably bigger over the last year, Chris thought, particularly the last six months, as though he'd used working out as a way to escape the world and train his mind away from his life. Although that idea bothered him a lot, Chris had to admit the results were gorgeous. If he was honest though, Chris thought every variation of Alex's body had been devastatingly sexy, despite not having been particularly aware of them at the time.

Chris' eyes skipped impatiently down Alex's chest and stomach, inevitably drawn to his groin. Protruding from a nest of coarse black curls, Alex's cock lay against his abdomen, hard and already leaking cum from its tip. Denying his urge to reach for it himself, Chris grabbed Alex's hand and guided it over to the erection in such desperate need of relief.

Alex acceded to Chris' implicit suggestion, taking his own cock in his hand and letting his fingers wrap comfortably around its girth. Chris watched as Alex began to stroke slowly up and down his length, and it was one of the sexiest things he'd ever seen.

"Fuck," he whispered, mirroring Alex's action and reaching down to grasp his own cock. He matched Alex's rhythm and tempo instinctively, his eyes flitting between Alex's increasingly flustered expression and the intensely erotic sight of the head of Alex's cock emerging from his fist over and over. "Is this how you do it when you're alone?"

Alex nodded with a small smile, a breathy sigh escaping his lips as his hips began pumping gently against his strokes and his eyes began to unfocus.

"Fuck," Chris repeated, working his cock faster, and without pausing to think about it, he reached forward with his other hand to slide a couple of fingers between the cheeks of Alex's ass. Although he still didn't speak, Alex's hazy eyes practically begged Chris to go ahead and do it.

It occurred to Chris that the reason he felt Alex was holding back was because he hadn't initiated a single thing so far. It was quite obvious that he wanted this badly, but not once had he so much as reached for Chris since their initial kiss had been broken, despite the fact that he'd long since recovered from the surprise of finding Chris in his bed. It was unlike him; Alex was a demanding kind of guy, and Chris knew from conversations he'd had over the years with some of Alex's one night stands and fuck buddies that Alex was normally a hungry and aggressive kind of lover. He didn't know why Alex was being so passive with him, but he was determined that it was going to change.

Chris sucked in a shaky breath as he pressed the tip of his finger against Alex's asshole. He realised with annoyance that he hadn't thought to lubricate his fingers, but Alex was already pushing back against him, apparently not at all concerned, and Chris trusted his judgement. Despite the resistance, Chris' finger slowly began to penetrate Alex's entrance, and Alex gasped sharply, his hand speeding up on his cock.

Chris' finger sank gradually into the heat of Alex's body, and as he withdrew it and carefully pushed in again, Chris slowed the pace of his hand on his cock until he was stroking himself and finger fucking Alex at the same tempo. It was an incredible sight - Alex grinding back against Chris' hand and panting quietly while he started to sweat, his eyes sometimes drifting closed as he lost himself in his masturbation. Chris didn't know how much time passed while he lovingly fingered Alex's ass, adding a second finger along the way, but eventually Alex let go of his cock, visibly struggling to compose himself.

"I've got to stop," Alex murmured breathlessly. "If I keep going, I'm gonna cum no matter how hard I think about Dusty Rhodes."

Chris swiped his tongue slowly across his lower lip, too aroused for Alex's joke to even register, and his eyes glazed over slightly as he imagined how Alex would look when he came. They had all night to explore and play - hell, if Chris had his way, they'd have years - but now that he knew Alex was so close, his need to make Alex cum was suddenly so strong, Chris couldn't think about anything else.

Releasing his cock, Chris lunged forward, his hand locking around the base of Alex's erection only long enough to guide the head into his open mouth. Driving his fingers into Alex's ass with renewed vigour, Chris let his other hand slide up over Alex's abdomen to rest on his taut stomach, just as Alex's fingers flew down to tangle into Chris' hair.

"I'm warning you," Alex said, his voice thick with barely controlled desire, "You're gonna wind up with a mouthful of cum."

Chris withdrew briefly to grin and mutter, "I should damn well hope so," and he held Alex's gaze while he slowly licked up the length of his cock. "Wanna fuck my mouth, Alex?"

Alex's fingers tightened in Chris' hair and his jaw clenched, but he made no movement to take advantage of Chris' offer, so Chris made the decision for him. He licked his lips to wet them before letting them seal over the head of Alex's cock again, and he felt the muscles in Alex's stomach contract beneath his hand as Alex desperately tried to hold his orgasm off.

As close as Alex was, Chris knew it wouldn't really make much difference what he did so long as he kept touching him, so he didn't worry too much about getting things right or figuring out how Alex liked it. Instead, he twisted his fingers inside Alex's body, running them over the smooth, soft surfaces inside Alex's ass, seeking out the rougher patch of flesh while he sank his lips as low as he was comfortably able on Alex's straining cock, adding very gentle suction to make it harder for Alex to fight off his climax. He drew back up again, setting a brisk, steady pace, and when he found what he was looking for, he rubbed his fingertips over Alex's prostate repeatedly, listening to the series of sighs and gasps it prompted.

Alex was still just barely holding on, and though Chris knew this technique would get Alex off, and probably pretty quickly, he was too impatient to wait even a short while, so he changed his approach. Still maintaining the rhythm of his mouth on Alex's length, he abandoned Alex's prostate and returned to finger fucking him, harder and rougher than before. He let his blunt fingernails scrape Alex's abdomen a little as he dropped his hand to cup Alex's balls, feeling them tightening almost immediately in response to the harsh onslaught of his fingers inside Alex's ass.

"Fuck... gonna cum in your mouth," Alex croaked unsteadily, and he'd barely finished speaking when Chris felt the first jet of cum hit the roof of his mouth. Angling Alex's cock the way Desmond had taught him to avoid triggering his gag reflex, Chris' desire to watch Alex's face warred with his instinct to close his eyes and revel in the sensation as Alex released in his mouth, and he found himself with his eyes shut, listening to the unbelievably erotic choked moan Alex gave as he rode out his orgasm.

Chris swallowed everything Alex gave him, painfully aware of his own aching erection, but too overwhelmed at finally getting to make Alex cum to want to take care of his own needs. When Alex's grip in his hair began to relax, Chris eased his lips up and off Alex's cock, gently pulling his fingers from Alex's ass at the same time. He licked his lips, relishing Alex's taste, and as he rose up the bed to drop tender kisses up Alex's chest and throat, he could feel Alex's thighs still spread motionless around his own and Alex's cock softening rapidly. Chris could have sworn he was even more in love with Alex than he had been when he'd climbed into bed.

Pressing his lips against Alex's flushed cheek, Chris smiled. Alex was dishevelled and sweaty, his eyes closed and his mouth slightly open. He looked exhausted, and despite his urgent desire for more, Chris knew they had all the time in the world, and he wanted to offer Alex the chance to recuperate.

"We can stop here if you want," he began, but Alex's eyes flew open, so piercing that Chris almost flinched back from their harsh gaze, and his hands gripped painfully at Chris' upper arms.

"If this is a one time thing," Alex ground out, his face a deliberately emotionless mask, "make it worth it."

Chris frowned. "What? Why would you even think that? All I meant was that we could have a time out for you to recover. Do you really think I'm going to let you go now that I've got you? Shit, the only reason I'm even prepared to let you get out of bed tomorrow is because our mothers would kill us if we didn't show up for Christmas dinner." He paused, and when he spoke again, his voice was so low it was barely audible. "I'm crazy about you, you stupid motherfucker."

Alex didn't respond, continuing to stare at Chris in an unnerving fashion while he assessed the situation. Chris was beginning to wonder whether he'd gone about the whole thing the wrong way after all, when Alex's hands latched suddenly onto the sides of his face, yanking him down into a kiss so hard and demanding, it bordered on brutal. He was still struggling to meet Alex halfway when Alex reared up and rolled them over, settling his knees on either side of Chris' hips and letting his ass hover suggestively over Chris' cock.

Chris found that without him even noticing it, Alex had pinned his wrists to the bed. This was the Alex Chris had been expecting when he got into bed - greedy and uncompromising. Alex broke the kiss and sat back, and Chris had to swallow the moan that rose in his throat as his cock was nestled between the cheeks of Alex's ass.

"I love you," Alex said fiercely, and it almost sounded like a challenge.

Chris smiled up at him, not at all perturbed by Alex's aggression. For the most part, he just hoped he could keep up with Alex's appetite, which he'd heard was voracious. "I love you too," he replied without hesitation.

After spending another long moment regarding Chris coolly, Alex finally returned Chris' smile. "Move up the bed," he urged, and he clambered off Chris, ignoring the disappointed sigh Chris responded with. "Go sit up on the pillows."

Chris followed Alex's instruction, lounging back against the headboard and watching while Alex leaned over the edge of the bed and produced a small bottle from underneath it. Before opening it, Alex took the time to arrange Chris more the way he wanted, pulling at him until Chris took the hint and shifted a couple of inches back down the bed, and then pressing at Chris' chest until he leaned back against the headboard again.

Chris grinned. "Are you always this pushy?"

"Stop fucking moaning," Alex replied blithely, flipping the cap of the bottle open with his thumb and pouring a little of the oil into the palm of his hand. Without giving Chris any warning or time to brace himself, he reached out and ran his hand over Chris' cock before taking hold of it and stroking gently a couple of times to spread the oil around.

Chris balled his hands into fists, looking down at Alex's hand as it caressed him, instinctively tilting his hips into it.

Alex smirked. "Eager?" he asked facetiously.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Chris made himself look up at Alex's face. "Are you sure you don't want to wait?" He gestured discreetly at Alex's crotch. "I mean, I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm desperate for you, but I'd still rather do this when little Alex is ready to go."

Alex's expression softened. "After the length of time I've wanted you? Trust me, I'm going to get off." He smiled and pulled his hand back, climbing to his knees. "But if you ever refer to my dick as 'little Alex' again, we're through."

Chris chuckled, but his amusement faded away as he watched Alex's slick hand vanish behind his back. Although he couldn't see it, he was in no doubt as to what Alex was doing, and the thought of it made his throat dry. Sometime in the next week, he was going to ask Alex to get himself off with both hands, so that he could see the whole thing from start to finish. Just as soon as he was able to watch Alex touching himself without succumbing to the temptation to join in.

Chris felt like he was being buffeted by a cacophony of emotions and he didn't know where to begin putting them into words, so he said nothing while Alex lubricated himself. He was glad Alex was brief though, because now that they were this close, every second he had to wait seemed to drag on forever. He could have cried with relief when Alex started crawling towards him.

While Alex positioned himself, Chris ran his hands greedily over Alex's strong shoulders and chest. There wasn't an inch of Alex that didn't turn him on, and he hoped Alex could see that; it was important to him that Alex knew how deep his desire ran. Alex's knees found their place on either side of Chris' hips again, and Alex steadied himself with a hand on Chris' shoulder while he reached behind himself with the other to guide Chris' cock to his entrance.

"Let me," Chris murmured, snaking his hand around Alex to brush his fingers aside.

Alex took him up on the offer, lacing his fingers together behind Chris' neck and watching Chris intently in the moonlight as Chris placed the head of his cock against Alex's asshole. "I feel I should warn you," he said conversationally, "that if this isn't real, I'm going to fucking kill you."

Despite Alex's flippancy, Chris could see the lingering distrust in his eyes. He knew Alex had too much pride to say what he was really feeling, and he also knew Alex would only be uncomfortable if he tried to address it, so instead he leered, "Sweetheart, if you'll sit back a little, I'll leave you in no doubt whatsoever about how real this is."

Alex snorted. "Classy, Chris. Really classy." As he adjusted his balance, he turned more serious. "Ready?"

"I don't think I'll ever be ready for you," Chris said with a smile, and he put his free hand on Alex's waist, urging him on.

As Alex began to sit back, Chris closed his eyes, swallowing hard and trying desperately to maintain his composure. Alex was deliciously tight, but between the lube and the way Chris' rough fingering had stretched him, Chris' cock slid into him so smoothly that he was fully seated in a matter of seconds, and Chris let the hand that had been guiding his cock glide hungrily over Alex's ass. Best of all, as Alex's balls came into contact with Chris' groin, Chris could feel them starting to tighten slightly, Alex's cock already reawakening in response to having Chris inside him.

Alex shifted his weight, as though to rise up the length of Chris' shaft, and Chris hurriedly grabbed his hips with both hands, holding him down. "Wait," he grunted urgently, leaning forward to press his forehead against Alex's chest, releasing his hips once he was sure Alex wasn't going to move and wrapping his arms around Alex in an ardent embrace. He was distantly aware of Alex's fingers stroking through his hair, but most of his concentration was on resisting the wave of pleasure washing over him. When he was finally certain he had himself under control, he pressed a soft kiss to Alex's chest.

"I love you," he said quietly in an awed tone, and Alex's hands tightened in his hair, pulling his head back so that Alex could claim his lips again. Alex's tongue swept through his mouth aggressively, and Chris knew that when Alex took him, it would be in much the same manner as he kissed. The thought of being planted face down and ass up while Alex drove into him over and over, hard and rough, made Chris' stomach flip, and he could feel the pull against Alex's body as his cock twitched.

Alex evidently felt it too, because he rolled his hips in a lazy circle, and Chris moaned helplessly into Alex's mouth. Alex broke the kiss with a grin.

"Whatever you're thinking about, keep thinking it. That's nice."

"Thinking about you," Chris mumbled breathlessly.

Alex rolled his eyes. "Man, you're so cheesy, it almost hurts. I'm not a girl, don't lay that crap on me."

"Do you ever shut the fuck up?" Chris countered, both amused and impressed by Alex's successful attempt to distract him from the sensations until he could cope with them. "Goddamn, it's like fucking Don West."

"Do you really want me to shut up?" Alex asked innocently. "Or would you rather hear me talk about how good you feel inside me? How big you feel, how full I am, how much I want to feel you pin me down and fuck me violently till I cum over the pair of us?"

"Yeah, okay," Chris said with a smile. "You can talk about that if you want to." He reached up to kiss Alex again before settling back against the headboard, letting his hands come to rest on Alex's hips again. He was pleased to see Alex was fully erect, although he sincerely doubted Alex's ability to recuperate that quickly on future occasions. Unable to wait any longer, he tilted his hips suggestively, and Alex smirked, putting his hands on Chris' shoulders.

Chris bit his lower lip absently as Alex moved, inch after inch of his cock being exposed to the cool air before being engulfed in tight heat again. "Ride me, sweetheart. Get yourself off."

Alex followed Chris' direction, developing a steady rhythm, and Chris met his every descent halfway, fingers digging into Alex's hips as he tried to force himself to keep to Alex's tempo. It grew harder by the second to defer his own needs, but it helped that there was a kind of disconnect between his brain and the physical sensations - after months of longing and planning, and his abject fear at the beginning of the week that Alex was lost to him, Alex was finally sat atop him, skin glistening with sweat and his sharp eyes practically pinning Chris to the wall. Chris felt like his brain kept stalling every time it hit him that he was really here, and Alex was really his, and he was grateful for that, because he wanted Alex so badly that otherwise he'd have been past the point of no return almost immediately. Even so, he was only barely hanging on.

Watching Alex's movements and reactions almost in wonder, Chris let one of his hands slip from Alex's hip to his cock. Alex briefly lost his rhythm, breathing in sharply as Chris' fingers wrapped around his length and began to stroke, but he recovered himself quickly. His new rhythm was a little faster and he seemed to be coming down slightly harder too, so Chris made his thrusts more forceful, having to close his eyes momentarily as he made himself resist the urge to let loose and fuck Alex hard until he came. He could feel Alex moving, and when he opened his eyes he found Alex's face only inches from his own and Alex's mouth rapidly bearing down on him.

Chris surrendered to Alex's bruising kiss, and Alex's tongue roughly assaulting his mouth made it harder still not to be equally rough with Alex's ass. It turned out though that in typically dense fashion, Chris was missing Alex's hints, because Alex pulled Chris' hand away from his cock, replacing it with his own, and as he jacked himself off he broke away from the kiss to whisper urgently, "Fuck me, Chris. Hard."

Chris didn't know if he'd missed Alex's hints because he was stupid or because he was so caught up in the moment, but he wasn't going to waste any time in giving Alex what he wanted. Holding Alex's hips in both hands again, he drove up into Alex's ass as hard as he could. He knew he didn't have the leverage he'd have in some other positions, but it seemed to be enough for Alex; on the first of Chris' harder strokes, Alex let out the most tantalising moan, and after that Chris wasn't aware of trying to fuck Alex hard at all - he just couldn't stop.

"Fuck... just like that," Alex managed to gasp out, his free hand on Chris' chest for balance as he struggled to get his upper half upright again. He tensed the muscles in his thighs to hold his weight, keeping himself in position while Chris thrust into him, working his cock faster.

"Cum again for me," Chris said softly, mesmerised by the sight of Alex drawing closer and closer to orgasm. Alex's panting was driving him crazy, as was Alex's half-open mouth; he kept imagining how it was going to look when that mouth descended on his cock, and as much as he didn't want it to end, he desperately needed Alex to get off so he could reach his own climax. "C'mon, sweetheart, I want to cum inside you."

Alex's strokes were suddenly more erratic, and his other hand flew up into Chris' hair, gripping painfully tight. He looked like he was trying to say something, but the words never escaped his mouth. His eyes closed of their own accord, and when his panting stopped abruptly, Chris realised Alex was unconsciously holding his breath.

Chris hurriedly looked down at Alex's hand working his cock, not wanting to miss the moment when Alex started to release. He tensed in anticipation when he saw Alex deliberately angle his cock so that his cum would hit Chris' stomach, and sure enough, a second later Alex's ass tightened deliciously around his cock. Cum struck Chris' belly in short strings and spurts, and Chris' head swam as he listened to Alex's long, low moan of pleasure and relief.

Chris watched enraptured as Alex's hand gradually slowed and more and more of his weight was dropped onto Chris' pelvis because Alex was too wiped out by his orgasm to support it himself. Although it was nice to feel Alex surrendering control, it made it more difficult to push into him and Chris was dying to cum, so he quickly turned them over, his cock slipping out of Alex's ass in the process. He hooked one of Alex's unresisting legs over his arm and planted both hands firmly on the mattress, holding Alex open for his renewed onslaught. Alex's exhausted but happy smile said he had no problem with Chris making use of him after he himself was done.

Chris forced his cock back into Alex's body, heedless of the small pool of cum being smeared over their torsos. "Perfect. You're perfect," he growled, and despite all the things they'd done - and were still doing - the flush on Alex's face deepened at the compliment.

Alex wrapped an arm around Chris' back, his other hand cupping the back of Chris' head, and he gently pulled Chris down onto him. Chris acquiesced, letting go of Alex's leg and winding his arms underneath Alex's back to grip his shoulders, pulling him down into every vicious stroke. Alex's leg curled up over his hip, and Chris closed his eyes, burying his face in the pillow next to Alex's neck while his orgasm started to build.

"Nearly there," he grunted, and Alex mustered the energy to try to meet the harsh pounding Chris was unleashing on him.

"Do it," Alex whispered in his ear, and despite the fact that he was clearly spent, Chris could hear the urgency and need in his voice. Chris knew that was the closest Alex would ever come to begging for him, and his lust spiked uncontrollably. Tightening his already vice-like grip on Alex's shoulders, Chris sank into him again, and the knot of heat in his groin threatened to explode.

"Do it," Alex repeated, and Chris drove into him savagely, holding himself deep inside Alex's ass while he came, snarling in pleasure. It seemed to go on forever and yet still be over too soon, and when the spots behind his eyes began to recede Chris allowed himself a few more languid thrusts, trying to keep the wave of his orgasm from ebbing for as long as he could.

When he finally had to admit it was over, Chris hazily pulled his head up from the pillow, forcing his eyes open regardless of how heavy his eyelids felt. He was met by Alex's cautious smile, and he didn't think returning it adequately explained how he felt, so instead he claimed Alex's lips in a hungry, possessive kiss. He let his hips roll one last time and then he withdrew gently, disentangling himself and flopping down on his back next to Alex.

"God," he croaked, trying to catch his breath.

"You can call me Alex," Alex replied smugly, and even through his post-orgasmic bliss, Chris cringed.

"Dude, that was bad, even for you."

Alex shrugged, but he couldn't hide his malicious enjoyment of Chris' pain. "C'mon, man, you set me up like that and expect me to resist it? I'm only human."

"Didn't fucking feel like it," Chris said, and he made eye contact to make sure Alex knew he meant it despite the flippant tone. "I think I'm dating some kind of incubus."

"Is that what we are now? Dating?" Alex asked; his attempt at nonchalance was atrocious.

"Well, if you still want that, yeah. If you don't, now's the time to tell me, before I make too much of a fool of myself."

"Of course I still want that, you muppet," Alex said with a smile, and Chris internally breathed a huge sigh of relief. He hadn't even realised he was nervous about this part of the night.

Feeling rejuvenated by the embarrassingly schoolgirlish swell of affection he felt for Alex, Chris hopped off the bed and wandered off to Alex's bathroom. He returned a moment later, rubbing a wet facecloth over his stomach and chest, and when he reached the bed, he clambered on and knelt next to Alex.

Chris reached out with the cloth, gently cleaning the cum from Alex's torso, and he saw Alex's eyebrow twitch in mild surprise at the gesture. As he wiped softly down the centre of Alex's abs, he stared intently at the movement of the cloth, clinging to the excuse not to look at Alex's face while he asked, "So, am I enough to keep you away from Hero?" He hated the vulnerability in his voice, and he immediately wished he could have taken the words back. Alex, however, was touched by the insecurity Chris tried to hide, and he laid his hand reassuringly on Chris' thigh.

"Dude, you were the reason I broke up with him in the first place. I respect him too much to have carried on a relationship with him when I knew I was in love with someone else."

"That was a long time ago," Chris said quietly. "It must have been rough for you."

Alex shrugged. "Not a walk in the park, no, but I got through it fine, didn't I?"

Chris would have debated just how 'fine' Alex had been, over the last six months at least, but he didn't want to press the issue. "I'm going to make it up to you. I'll make you happy." Aware that both he and Alex were uncomfortable with how intense the conversation had grown, Chris changed the subject. "Man, I'm sure this is thinner than the load you shot in my mouth."

"Well, duh. If we did it again now, it'd come out like dirty dishwater."

"Please tell me you don't want to go again right now. If you can shoot off three times that quickly, I'm going to be dead within a week. I'm not seventeen anymore, you know."

Alex snorted. "No, not right now. Maybe again in the morning. I'll probably slow down once the initial 'holy crap, Chris Sabin's mouth is on my cock!' has faded. Maybe."

Chris lazily threw the cloth across the room and settled down next to Alex, pulling up the duvet from the foot of the bed. The sheets were damp with sweat, but Chris didn't much care. "I'm a dead man."

Alex tugged him closer, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, and Chris laid his head on Alex's chest, carefully avoiding the wet bits and listening to Alex's heartbeat, and to the vibration of his voice when he spoke again.

"You don't have to help me, anyhow. Just sit there and look pretty, I can take care of the rest alone."

"Oh yeah, because I can watch you get yourself off and not blow a load myself," Chris said sarcastically.

Alex stuck his tongue out, but it was wasted because Chris couldn't see it. "I wonder if I'll get my other wish too..." he mused absently. "Actually, I think the two might kind of go together."

Chris said nothing, feigning ignorance, but he smiled to himself as he imagined Alex's surprise when they got up in the morning and Alex saw his living room.

"Hey," Alex said suddenly, "are you going to let me fuck that amazing ass of yours? No pressure. And not now, obviously."

"It's not a question of 'letting' you, dimwit." Chris looked up at Alex and grinned. "I want it so badly, you wouldn't believe. I keep spacing out, daydreaming about what it's going to be like when you push into me."

Naked desire wrote itself all over Alex's face, and then he closed his eyes for a second. "Okay, we should talk about something else because I'm starting to get turned on again. I'm going to break us both at this rate."

"Right. How about vegetables?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because there's no way _that_ could end in sex." He flicked Chris' ear, and before Chris had time to retaliate he went on, "Anyway, I do have a couple of conditions."

Chris pulled away from Alex's chest, lying on his side and up on one elbow. "Okay, shoot. Uh, go ahead."

"Number one, no fucking stupid pet names." Alex pulled a face. "And no gimmick names either, before you start."

"So no Prodigy, no Technical Messiah, definitely no Baby Bear?"

"Absolutely not."

Chris grinned. "What about Cybersex?"

"I'd actually agree to that one, but I know you're mocking me, you asshole."

"Seriously, dude, the only person who thought that was cool was you."

Alex scowled. "Shut up, I'm a genius. And no pet names for my dick either. 'Little Alex'... honestly, what's wrong with you?"

"Alright, alright!" Chris laughed, holding up a hand in surrender. "No pet names, period. I get it."

"You can keep calling me sweetheart if you want though." Alex's face softened, and he wore the secretive, private smile Chris loved so much. "Coming from you, it's actually kinda nice."

Chris leaned over for a brief, tender kiss. He was pretty sure he'd respond the same way every time Alex graced him with that smile. "Duly noted. Anything else?"

"Just one thing." Alex's expression shifted, and Chris knew this one was more serious. "I need you to be honest with me. I mean, when this is done, just say so. When you're bored or you've had enough of my bitching, don't dance around it because you don't want to hurt my feelings or whatever. It's important to me. I don't want to look back on the last private moments we shared and know they were lies."

Chris frowned. "I'm not intending for this to _be_ over, but okay, if we run out of gas, I'll be up front with you. I don't think you need to worry though."

Alex smiled wryly. "I think you underestimate how much of a dick I am."

"Bullshit. I saw you hit that little girl right in the face with a snowball this afternoon, and it didn't put me off, did it?" Chris nudged Alex playfully, and Alex laughed.

"Man, that little bitch was packing her snowballs with fucking rocks, she had it coming." Alex's amusement faded, and he looked troubled. "I really _am_ a dick. I'm aggressive, bitchy, pushy, demanding, unsympathetic, harsh, morally bankrupt... what the hell are you doing with me?"

Chris thought for a moment before replying. "Okay, that's all true," he said finally. "But you make an exception to every one of those things for me. I get a different Alex to the one everyone else gets. With me, you're thoughtful, supportive, selfless... you loved me for years and gave me everything I could possibly want without ever asking me for a thing. Granted, everyone else's Alex is a prick, but my Alex is everything I need, and a lot more than I deserve."

"Amazing." Alex shook his head. "You just called me a prick, and yet I'm still filled with all this mushy sentiment towards you. How the hell do you do that?"

"Practise."

Alex smiled, reaching over to stroke Chris' cheek affectionately. "I love you."

Chris grinned. "Well, you're only human," he quipped, and he flinched when Alex flicked his ear again.

"You know what? I'm going to take that out on your ass later. That, and the fact that you called me a prick." The glint in Alex's eyes suggested he was only half joking, and Chris had to suppress a shiver.

"Dude, don't say that, I'll never be able to stop calling you names."

"Hey, as long as they're insulting and not cutesy, it'll just make the sex better."

Chris grinned. "I'm pretty sure we're not going to have any problems there."

Chris leaned in to share a long, tender kiss with Alex, but somehow it got away from them and grew increasingly passionate and greedy, Alex's hands clamping firmly onto either side of Chris' head while his tongue delved forcibly into Chris' mouth. When Chris managed to break away from Alex's iron grip, he asked, "So you're sure you're not about to demand we go again?"

"No, why?"

"No reason." Chris turned from his side to his back, and as he moved Alex felt an erection brush against his leg.

Alex snorted. "You dirty little bitch. Right, get on your knees and spread your legs."

* * *

_Dear Santa,_

_Sorry about that stuff from earlier. My bad._

_Lots of love,_  
_Alex._

_p.s. Even a little thing like taking one less sugar in your coffee can help. You don't want the police to be inundated every Christmas Eve because of people calling to complain about some lardass stuck in their chimney, do you?_


End file.
